The Eagle: A Different Side Of The Story
by TheExperimenter10
Summary: OC and Esca: Esca falls in love with Marcus's sister Elena. Elena realizes that she loves him back, but their true love for one another and their commitment to each other is tested when Marcus, Elena and Esca go in search of THE EAGLE. COMPLETE! Please Read and Review
1. Chapter 1

The Eagle: Another Side Of The Story

The Gladiator ran out onto the circle, earning him cheers and rounds of applause, when the door opened. I shifted in my seat, not clapping and not cheering. These fights, never ended well. The door on the opposite side opened and, not much to my surprise, a slave was pushed out into the circle. He turned back to look at his captors and walked on towards the Gladiator. "It's a slave!" Uncle pointed out. "A Gladiator and a slave's never a fair contest. Never!" he explained to Marcus. This was my brother's first time at the tournament circle and he knew very little about what goes on. I stared down at the slave and noticed he was no more than a young man. Strong built, but somewhat skinny legs.

He wore nothing, but leather trousers and held a small, round shield and short sword, but he continued to walk up towards the tall, muscle built Gladiator. I prayed to the Gods that the boy would be okay. He was around my age, by the looks of it, and different than most of the slaves that were put out for death fights. I edged closer to the edge of my seat, praying silently, muttering words of the ancient language. The crowd began to call out then. "Fight!" They said. "Come on fight!" The slave dropped his weapon and his shield. "Why is he doing that?" I asked my Uncle, leaning across Marcus. The crowd began to 'boo' the young man. "There's bravery. He's going to give himself his death." said Uncle. "Why?" I asked again, but still he didn't answer. I looked up at Marcus and he looked at me and just shook his head. As the Gladiator hit the slaves' face with his shield, the crowd cheered again. The slave fell to the ground after the shield struck him.

As soon as he stood back up, the Gladiator struck him in the side, causing him to double over in pain and fall to the ground once again. "Uncle, this isn't right! He could get seriously injured." I said, watching in disgust as the crowd cheered on the Gladiator and yelled at the slave for not fighting. "Well then perhaps you would be able to help afterwards. You help people like this don't you, Elena?" I hadn't thought of that. When I was younger, I was taught by my mother and many tutors how to heal wounds on soldiers, and I immediatly fell in love with the profession. I had helped many people in the past ten years, including soldiers, and sometimes slaves, when neccessary. The crowd continued to jeer and the Gladiator continued to strike the slave with his shield and his fist, causing the slave to fall. "Get up and fight!" called out a woman. A man called out, "Get up, slave! Fight!" I stood up and turned toward the people shouting and yelled out, "Leave him be!" "Elena, what are you doing?" I ignored my Uncle and kept shouting out, "Leave him alone!" "Shut up, and sit down you whore!" one woman shouted.

The slave staggered as he stood up and he looked up in my direction as I glared at the woman. He gave me a confused look, like he didn't know why I was supporting him. I looked down at Marcus and he gave me a look that said 'you've done enough' and he pulled on my sleeve and indicated that I sit down. Sighing, I took my brothers hand and sat down again and watched the rest of the fight. The slave's face was bleeding. His lip and the side of his face was cut and bruised. I felt bad for him. Marcus looked intently at the young man as he was hit again and this time when he fell, he made no movements to get back up. The crowd began to yell louder, chanting, "Kill, kill, kill!" over and over again as the Gladiator pointed his sword to the center of his chest and looked up at the crowd. "Stand up with me." he whispered. I did as he asked and stood up, helping him up as I did. He stood there for a moment and finally reached out his arm with his thumb pointing skywards and he shouted out, "Life. Life! Life!" I looked out at the slave lying in the mud and caught his eye as I began to follow Marcus in shouting, "Life!" Marcus stared at the slave as well, and we both continued to yell, "Come on let him live. Come on, get your thumbs up! Come on you fools!" he yelled. "Life! All of you, life! Let him live. Come on Elena help me." "Life! Come on, everyone, let him live!" I began shouting. The crowd finally began to listen and everyone raised their thumbs and chanted, "Life! Life! Life!" I smiled up at Marcus and looked back down into the circle and smiled at the man lying there. The Gladiator looked around at the crowd, and seeing that a large majority of us had our thumbs up, he brought his sword up and backed away. The crowd cheered, and I joined in. "Now that I was not expecting." said my Uncle.

Later that day, I found myself sitting in the pavilion with Marcus, sketching out the scene in front of me. Marcus was tying his sandals, but was having a hard time. His leg was severly wounded, beyond my help and was supporting himself on his crutch with one hand and tying his shoes with the other. I had offered many times if he wanted help, but he said no. "Stephanos!" he called after a few minutes. "Stephanos!" The door opened, but Stephanos was not the one who entered, it turned out to be my Uncle. I turned in my seat and put down my sketches and faced both him and Marcus. "I decided Stephanos is too old to serve two masters." my Uncle began. "I bought you your own body slave." "I don't need my own slave." Marcus said looking down. "Marcus." "I should have been consulted." he said his temper rising a little. I didn't understand why he was making such a big deal out of it. He needed the help more than anything, now that he was wounded. "Yeah well, you weren't. Slave!" he called.

I heard footsteps come from behind my Uncle and in the doorway, was Marcus's new slave. I looked up and realized that he was the same slave that was in the tournament earlier that day. My Uncle had told me he was buying Marcus a slave, but not which one. He only told me that he would need my help, because he was badly wounded and without some treatment would not be able to work to the best of his abilities. He walked in with his head bowed, not looking at either me or Marcus. "His name is Esca." Uncle said as he left. "I've no use for you." said Marcus getting up. I got up out of my seat to help him and stood back as he limped over to the table. "I had no wish to be bought." said Esca. I noticed that he had a strange accent and he spoke with a soft voice. "You should have run. My Uncle wouldn't have stopped you." "You saved my life." Esca pointed out. "I have a debt of honor to you now." "Against your wish." Esca still continued on, "No man should ever beg for his life." he said. "You didn't. I did. Well we did, my sister and I, on your behalf. And we meant nothing by it." I . Esca looked up at me as if he just noticed I was standing there. He walked towards my brother and pulled out a small dagger. "I am a son of the Brigantes, who never broke his word." He said throwing the dagger on the floor. "My father's dagger is my bond. I hate everything you stand for. Everything you are. But you saved me and for that I must serve you." "Hm. Your wounds from today-" "They will heal." Esca said interupting and looking away. "Not any time soon. My sister is a healer, she will help you." Marcus gestured to me.

I looked at them both and nodded. "That is kind, but I'm sure the wounds aren't terrible." "I saw you at the tournament today. The wounds on your chest are deep, and they could get infected, and make you sick. I have remedies and medicine that can help you." I said. Esca looked up at Marcus, as he moved slowly towards him. Marcus leaned over and whispered in Esca's ear, "Just don't get any ideas." I walked towards the door and gestured for Esca to follow. He hesitated for a moment, but followed me out the door. I walked down the hallway and turned right, down another hallway until we reached my bedroom. The house wasn't big enough for me to have my own healing room, so I worked in my own room. "Here we are." I said opening the door. I held it open for him, but he didn't move. "What is it?" I asked. He didn't answer. "Please, come in." He glanced at me and slowly made his way into my room. Once he was inside, I closed the door. "Please sit." Again, he didn't move. "Is something wrong?" I asked walking over to him. Esca shook his head, and pulled the chair out from under my desk and sat. "I hope you know that you can trust me, I've been doing this for years." "It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I have never known a woman, or for that matter, a Roman, who helped a slave." Esca explained. "Well, I guess that makes me a rebel, does it?" I asked chuckling. I walked over to my desk and opened the top drawer and took out a bottle filled with a dark liquid as well as a rag. Closing the drawer I walked back over to Esca and pulled up another chair and sat in front of him.

The closeness seemed to bother him a little, but he did not move away. "I need you to take off your tunic, please." I looked up at him as I said this and he looked uncomfortable. "I need to see the wounds, or I won't be able to treat them." Nodding, Esca grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up and over his head and draped it over his arm. I looked at his chest and his arms, they were badly scarred and some were still bleeding slightly. A lot of them were blood stained as well. I opened the bottle I held in my hands and poured some of the liquid onto the rag and reached out and began to dab the rag over the new wounds, cleaning up the dried blood that surrounded them. Placing the bottle back on the desk, I opened the drawer again and this time took out a fresh rag as well as another bottle filled with a thick, grey liquid. I used the new rag to apply the grey liquid. "Is this what you want to do for the rest of your life?" he asked. "No. No, not really." "Then what do you want to do?" he asked, watching me. "It's really stupid." I said, slowly applying the liquid. "Tell me." I looked up at him. "Well, I have always wanted to be like my brother. " I told him. "A soldier?" "Yes, well of sorts. Unfortunaty women can't be soldiers, so I just used to spar with Marcus, when he had time. I practice on my own now, since his leg has been wounded. Could you stand up for a minute, please?" I gently grabbed one side of his hip to hold him still, and I took the rag and dabbed more of the grey liquid onto a wound. "There. In a few days they should be almost completely healed." I told him as I stood up and put the bottles and rags back into the drawer of my desk. I put my chair I was sitting on back where it belonged. "Thank you...?" "Elena." I said. Nodding, Esca pulled his shirt over his head and left closing the door behind him and leaving me to clean up.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A few days after the tournament, Uncle called for a surgeon to come and look at Marcus's wounded leg. The surgeon arrived in the late afternoon. Marcus was lying down on his bed in his room, with the surgeon observing the wound. My Uncle, Esca and I were all waiting around on different sides of the room watching. "Who searched this wound?" asked the surgeon after a few minutes of observations. "The surgeon at the Fort." replied Marcus. "Was he drunk? I've never seen such a mess. You must have been in constant pain." "Sent him 2oo leagues in a mule cart. It nearly killed him." Uncle explained. "I'm going to have to re-open it, there's still metal in there." said the surgeon. "Well," said my Uncle as he stood up from his chair. "If it's gonna be done, let him do it. Right?" Marcus nodded and my Uncle led me out of the room. As I walked towards the door, I looked up at Esca and caught him looking at me, but when he realized that I had seen, he quickly looked down at his feet.

"Elena." I looked up ahead at my Uncle. "Hm?" "Come." he said beckoning me with his hand. I glanced one last time at Esca and walked out of Marcus's room. "Are you alright?" asked my Uncle. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?" I said looking up at him. "You've been very secretive and quiet these past few days. I worry about you." "Thank you Uncle, but I can assure you that I'm fine." I said smiling. He smiled down at me and said, "Well if you're sure. I just want you to be happy." "Thank you Uncle." We turned around a corner and entered the pavilion. I bade my Uncle goodbye as I walked out into the garden. I walked around the garden and came to one of the many ponds and sat down next to it.

I sat there, thinking about the day's events. I didn't know why at that moment I thought of Esca. There was something about the way he looked at me earlier, that had caught me off guard a little bit. No one has ever looked at me that way, but I couldn't figure out what that look was. I sat by the pond for an hour hoping Marcus was alright. I had heard a brief yell of pain coming from inside the villa, but I knew there wasn't much I could do to help. From behind me I heard footsteps coming closer to me. I turned my head and looked over my shoulder and saw Esca walking towards me. Finally he came to a stop and sat down next to me. "How is he?" I asked. "He is resting. He told me to come and tell you that he's alright." he said in reply. I nodded my head slowly. "That's good." I said finally. "So, do you know what he's planning to do tomorrow?" I asked. Esca turned his head and looked at me before answering. "He said we were going to go hunting sometime in the early morning." "Hunting?" I asked, surprised. "In his condition? He should be resting not hunting!" I looked up at Esca with disbelief and he just looked away, into the water in front of us. "I can ask him to reconsider if you ask me to." he said.

"Esca?" He looked at me again. "Yes?" "You are not my slave, I don't want you to ever feel that you have to take orders from me. I am quite capable of doing things on my own." I explained to him. "Besides, I can see that you don't like serving people, Romans in particular. I don't want to be that one extra person that makes your life miserable." Esca muttered something under his breath that sounded oddly like, "You won't make my life miserable." Then he said in a louder tone, "I can see that you're different than any of the Romans that I have met in my lifetime. You're kind and caring, well more so, compared to others I have met." I felt my cheeks heat up in embarassment when he said this. I always felt a little embarassed when someone complimented me. "I-I, um...thank you, Esca." I said as I smiled up at him. He looked down at me and smiled at me for the first time. His smile reminded me a little of a small child's, it was beautiful. "Esca!" Esca snapped his head up and looked around as his name was called. I turned around as well, to find my uncle standing by the house. Esca stood and put out his hand towards me. Looking up at him, I took his hand and he helped me stand up.

We made our way towards the house to where my uncle stood, walking side by side. My uncle shot him a look of disgust as he told him that Marcus needed him. Esca nodded his head in my direction before walking into the house. I was about to do the same, to get myself ready for dinner, but my uncle grabbed my arm and made me face him. "Elena. I want you to stay away from him." I looked at him with a puzzled expression on my face. "Why?" I asked. "He wouldn't hurt me. Not here." "I don't care. I want you to stay away from him. He's a Briton and he's not your slave. He knows that. He doesn't have to obey you, he could hurt you if he gets the chance. Do you understand me?" I nodded, but with a sad feeling in my heart. I knew Esca was a kind person at heart. The few days since he had been here, we spent time talking and getting to know each other. We became quite close, and he didn't strike me as the kind of man who would run around killing people just because they were Roman. Esca seemed truly kind in some form or another. I continued on into the house and made my way towards my bed chambers. I flung myself onto my bed. I decided I would skip dinner that night, all my apetite had gone, so I lay there on my bed. The sun had almost set and the sky was getting darker.

I was sure it was almost the middle of the night when I woke. The sky outside was black and the moon and the stars were shining brightly. I propped myself up on my elbows for a brief moment before sitting up and getting out of bed. It took me a few minutes to realize how hungry I was, so I decided to head to the kitchens to get something to eat. With a small candle in my hand, I made my way through the house towards the kitchen. The entire house was pitch black and there wasn't a person in sight, so I easily snuck into the kitchen unseen, or so I thought at the time. I placed the candle down onto the wooden table top and moved towards the cupboard where Stephanos kept the bread, and ripped off a small chunk. I took the piece in my hand and walked over to the table and sat down, ripping off smaller pieces of the bread and placing them in my mouth. I wasn't a big eater. I ate only small portions of whatever food was available. I sat for a few minutes, finishing off my piece of bread, before I heard soft footsteps behind me. I jumped up out of my seat and drew the small dagger I had hidden in my bodice, and pointed it in front of me. "Relax. I'm not going to harm you." Esca's soft voice came from the darkness. I immediatly lowered my arm and tucked the dagger back in it's place. Esca finally walked forward enough that I could see him. The light that the candle gave off, gave his face somewhat ghostly features, but I liked it and I didn't know why.

"What are you doing up at this time of night." I asked. "I would ask you the same question." "I was hungry." I said plainly. "I heard someone moving about the house and was concerned for you- I mean your family's safety." he explained as he stepped even closer towards me, causing me to back up into the table. "Do I make you nervous?" he asked as an amused expression came over his face. I swallowed hard and shook my head. "No, not necessarily. My uncle warned me to stay away from you, but you're making it hard for me." Esca smiled as he said, "It's the middle of the night, your uncle would never know." "Know what?" I asked nervously. It had never occured to me that Esca might be hiding something behind that smile of his, until now. I remembered the past few days that we had spent together, and realized that I what I felt at that moment wasn't nerves at all, but excitement, and possibly even some form of longing. The smile he gave me showed what I felt deep down inside. Was it possible that he felt the same way?

"He would never know that we are together right now." As soon as he said this I could have sworn I heard more footsteps out in the hallways. "Elena, you don't strike me as the type of woman who would care if you were breaking the rules." "You're right, I don't normally care, but my uncle gave me strict orders to stay away from you." I explained looking for a way around him. Esca scoffed and moved closer to me, so close that we were mere inches apart and I could feel his hot breath in my face. He was barely and inch taller than me, but I felt small and helpless next to him. "Do you _want_ to stay away from me?" he asked bringing his face closer to mine. My answer came out in nothing more than a whisper. "No." I looked up into his face and his smile returned. I felt his arm snake around my waist as pulled me closer to his body and he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to my own. My heart began to race ever so quickly as he softly kissed me. A sudden rush of emotion had come over me like never before as I kissed him back. I never wanted him to let me go, I never wanted him to stop, but to stay in that moment forever. His lips were soft and gentle against mine as he kissed me deeply. By that point I had my hands around his neck and his were holding my back as he held me close to him. His hands quickly repositioned themselves and now held my hips firmly, as he continued to kiss me ever so passionately. I did not know how long it had been, but I did not care, I didn't want it to stop, but just as I had begun to think that it would never end, he pulled his lips away from mine. He had left me almost gasping for air.


	3. Chapter 2: Esca's POV Of Their Kiss

Chapter 2 (In Esca's POV)

**This is just a part of the second chapter in Esca's point of view. One of the reviewers suggested writing something in his POV so we would know what his true intentions towards Elena are. So here you go! Sorry if it isn't as great as the other chapters, but I tried. I will most likely be writing the rest of the book in Elena's POV because I have had her planned out in my mind for a while. :D ENJOY! **

It was the middle of the night, when I heard footsteps outside of my small bedroom. Without thinking I quickly jumped off of my small straw matress and walked to the door. I opened it a crack and peered around it and saw the hem of a dress disappear around the corner. My heart nearly skipped a beat, when I realized it must have been Elena. I opened the door the rest of the way, looked down the hallway to make sure no one else was watching and made my way to follow Elena. Her uncle had given me orders not to ever go near her again, but I didn't care, I had to speak to her. She needed to know how I felt, even if she didn't feel the same way and now seemed like the perfect time. She was different than any other Romans I had met in my life, she was kind, courageous and had a loving nature. She reminded me of my mother, but far more beautiful, if I am to be honest. I continued to follow the sounds of her footsteps and when I realized where she was going, I had the urge to laugh a bit, but refrained.

At last I reached she reached the kitchens. I followed her inside, and I was thankful that my bare feet made no noise on the stone floor as I moved along the walls and watched her rip off a chunk of bread. She moved back towards the table and sat down and she began to rip off small pieces and place them in her mouth. I stood there, leaning against the wall watching her eat. The candle that was on the table, made her blue eyes twinkle like stars, causing me to stare at her longer than neccessary. She looked so vulnerable sitting there unaware of my presence, it would have been in my nature as a Briton to take advantage of that, but again, she was different and I cared about her way too much to do such things to her. After she had eaten the last bit of the bread I started to walk towards her.

She must have heard my footsteps because she jumped up out of her chair and pulled out a dagger from her dress as she spun around. "Relax. I'm not going to harm you." I said softly. Her body relaxed when she realized it was me and tucked the dagger back where it belonged. I continued to walk forward and stopped in the light. Elena gave me a strange look as she observed my face. "What are you doing up at this time of night?" she asked. "I would ask you the same question." "I was hungry." she said as plainly as possible. "I heard someone moving about the house and was concerned for you- I mean your family's safety." I partially lied. I took a few steps closer to her, which caused her to back up into the table. "Do I make you nervous?" I asked as I smiled with an amused expression on my face. Elena shook her head as she said, "No, not necessarily. My uncle warned me to stay away from you, but you're making it hard for me." I smiled at her when I said, "It's the middle of the night, your uncle would never know." "Know what?" she asked nervously. I looked at her, showing her with my eyes, the excitment and longing that I felt inside of me. I had sincerely hoped that she felt the same way.

"He would never know that we are together right now." Elena's eyes darted towards the door as if she heard something coming towards us, but I ignored it. "Elena, you don't strike me as the type of woman who would care if you were breaking the rules." "You're right, I don't normally care, but my uncle gave me strict orders to stay away from you." she explained looking for a way to get around me, but with no avail. I scoffed at this and moved closer towards her, it was close enough that we were barely inches apart from each other. I glanced down at her and noticed how she seemed to feel small, with me this close to her even though I wasn't even an inch taller than she was. "Do you _want_ to stay away from me?" I asked as I brought my face closer to hers. When she answered, her voice was a soft whisper, "No." She looked up into my face and I smiled again. I snaked my arm around her waist and pulled her closer to my body as I leaned in and gently pressed my lips to hers. Her lips were soft and fragile as I started out slow and soft. I could feel my heart pound against my rib cage as a rush of different emotions took over me as she softly began to respond and kiss me back. I never wanted to let go of her, and I was sure she didn't want me to, by the way she responded to me. I felt Elena place her arms around my neck and I held her hips firmly. Neither of us seemed to know how much time had passed, but it didn't seem to matter, at least not to me. I felt some sort of satisfaction in kissing her, she now knew how I felt about her, and she seemed to feel the same way. I soon began to feel light headed from the lack of oxygen, so being careful not to ruin the moment, I gently parted my lips from hers.


	4. Chapter 3

**I just want to say, that first of all thank you for all the wonderful reviews. They have given me the confidence to write even more. Second, this chapter continues in Elena's POV after they kiss, only a few minutes after anyways. There is a lot of dialogue, most of the lines are from the movie itself, which is what it is based on obviously. I know this isn't maybe the best of the chapters beacause there is so much dialogue, but I did my best. But thats about it! ENJOY 3!**

I looked up into his eyes and saw nothing but love and lust, they reflected what I felt inside of me. The longing I had felt mere moments before, had gone, like it had been fulfilled just with that one kiss. "I lied." he said after a moment of silence. "I knew it was you when I heard the footsteps. I noticed you weren't at dinner this evening and I figured you would eat later, so I followed you." My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Why would you follow me?" "So I could get you alone, to talk to you." he said briefly kissing me again. When he tried to pull away this time, I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. I had never felt like this about anyone before, but kissing Esca and loving him, just felt right. Our tongues were now battling for dominence over the other as he kissed me more passionatly than before. "Elena!" Startled, Esca and I pulled away and he backed up a few feet. I turned my head towards the door and saw Uncle standing there with a deadly look on his face. He turned his glare towards Esca now and said with such anger, "Outside, now."

Esca didn't even look at me as he followed my uncle out of the kitchen. I didn't even dare to move an inch from where I stood. I heard the angry voice of my brother coming from outside. "HOW DARE YOU?" he yelled. At this rate the entire household would be awake. "HOW DARE YOU DEFY MY DIRECT ORDERS! DID I NOT SPECIFICALLY WARN YOU NOT TO EVEN SPEAk TO HER?" my uncle questioned him. Their argument continued like this for many more minutes before I heard, "You are not to go near her ever again without anyone from my family's permission. Is that understood?" I presumed Esca would have nodded in response and left, because my uncle returned to the kitchen and walked in front of me. I looked up into his face and saw anger. He pulled himself up to his full height, pulled his arm back and slapped me. Once, twice... three times. He might as well have beaten me with a stick for all I cared. I barely reacted. My cheek burned, yes, but I did not stagger backwards as most people would have done. "I am very disappointed in you Elena. Not only did you disobey me, but you have shamed yourself, me and your family name." I said nothing. I curled my hands into fists and I started to feel angry. "You are nothing like your parents. I thought you would at least have some of your mother's qualities, but I always knew you were no better than the whores that walk around the streets." his words were like ice. "How dare you." I said in a soft, but angry voice. "Excuse me?" "How dare you accuse me of being a whore!" I yelled. "How many other men have you seen me kiss? How many other men have you seen me even look at that way? You are right, I am nothing like my parents and I am proud of that, but I am NOT a whore!" At that I stormed out of the kitchen. My temper had gotten the best of me and I knew it.

As soon as I reached my bedroom I entered and slammed the door. "Are you alright?" I spun around and in the darkness saw the silouhette of Esca standing next to my window. "I'm fine." I said shaking my head. "What are you doing in here?" I asked worriedly, in case someone saw him. "I came to see if you were alright and it appears that you are, so I'll just go." he said lowering his head and making his way towards the door. "Esca?" I said quickly. He turned around and faced me. "Yes?" "Don't leave...please?" I asked softly. A soft smile appeared on his lips and he walked towards me. "But your Uncle gave me strict orders to-" "He said not to come near me without his family's permission, but he forgot that I am part of his family." I told him kindly. "So, I am giving you permission to stay with me if you will do that much." He smiled at me and nodded. He walked in front of me and sat down on the edge of the bed and opened his arms out to me. I walked over to him and sat on his lap, resting my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me to him. "Do you think I'm a whore?" I asked after a few minutes. I knew what he would say, but I just wanted to hear his voice, I wanted him to say it out loud. "No. I don't think you are a whore. If I did, I wouldn't be here with you right now." he said quietly. I leaned in closer to him, and listened to his heart beat. The sound of it caused me to feel something I had never felt before. It felt like just at the thought of losing the man holding me at that moment, would kill me.

After a few, quiet minutes, I let out a huge, yawn. I was sure that it was very unlady like, but I didn't care at the time. "You're tired. You should get some sleep." said Esca as he released me from his arms. I had to admit I was fairly exhausted. So, I lay down on my back and Esca lyed down next to me, wrapping one arm around my waist. I pulled the blankets up, wrapping them around the two of us. A few minutes of silence passed as we lay there, when I decided to ask him a question that I had wanted to ask him before. "Why me?" I knew he would have knotted his eyebrows in confusion, but he answered none the less. "I didn't neccessarily choose you if you were wondering. I have had many other women in my life, but none of them were anything like you." "Hmm." was all I managed to answer before sleep took over me.

The next morning I woke up to find myself alone in my bed. I smiled to myself at the thoughts of what had happened the previous night. I supposed that I had had feelings for Esca all this time, but I hadn't really thought about them until last night. Although now my uncle was upset with me and I had also lost his trust. I got up out of my bed and took out a new dress from my closet and pulled it on. I walked out of my bedroom and headed towards the kitchen to find something to eat. When I walked in I found my Uncle and two unknown men sitting around the dining table conversing animatedly. My uncle looked up when he heard me come in and said, "Ah, Elena, I would like you to meet Claudius Marcellus," he said gesturing to the elder man sitting next to him. "my old friend and the esteemed Legate of the Sixth Legion." Claudius was a wide and short man with white hair and the man sitting next to him was much younger, probably a few years older than me and was taller and had brown hair. "This is Tribune Servius Placidus. He works for me." said Claudius gesturing to the man who was sitting next to him. "Pleasure." I said as I shook both of the men's hands. Tribune smiled at me, but Claudius kept a straight, grim face. I looked up at my uncle and saw in his eyes that he still hadn't forgiven me for my actions the night before. "Where's Marcus?" I asked walking over to him. "Out. He went for an afternoon hunt with his slave." My hands curled into fists when he called Esca "his slave", but I made no comment. I just nodded and made my way towards the door. "Elena, remember our discussion." said my uncle. I looked over my shoulder and nodded before walking out of the kitchen. I decided I didn't want to eat with my uncle in the same room and with the guests, I knew that it would just get awkward.

I walked around the house helping Stephanos clean up to help time go by until Esca returned. I ended up working and cleaning for almost three to four hours before I heard footsteps coming from outside. I gave the broom I was holding back to Stephanos and went to check and see if they had returned. Walking up the pathway in the gardens that led up to the house, was Marcus with Esca walking a few feet behind. I smiled and waved at my brother when he noticed me standing there and when Esca caught my eye, he smiled at me kindly as I smiled back. They walked into the kitchen where my uncle and the guests were sitting. I followed them and stood just inside the doorway, watching. Claudius and my uncle were having a conversation and stopped when Marcus and Esca walked in. "Marcus. I'd like you to meet Claudius Marcellus, an old friend and the esteemed Legate of the Sixth Legion." my uncle said as Marcus and Claudius shook arms. "Your uncle is an old sparring partner." said Claudius, smiling. "Oh, Tribune Servius Placidus, an indisposable member of my staff." They too, shook arms as they were introduced. I stared across the room at Esca. I didn't know what it was about him that had made me fall for him. I didn't know why I liked him at all. There were so many different reasons floating inside of my head, that I didn't know which one was the right one. He was handsome (in my opinion), he was intelligent (again in my opinion), he treated me with respect and kindness. I couldn't remember the last time anyone had treated me like that. My parents might have, but I barely remember them. Marcus had at times, but he was always busy training.

"Ah, supper's ready." my uncle said loudly. I snapped out of my daze and looked over at him, to find him glaring at me. "Boiled eggs and fish." My stomach growled, I hadn't eaten all day. "Don't all rush at once." Uncle said lightly. Everyone sat down around the table as Stephanos brought out the food. I ended up sitting beside Marcus, across from Tribune, who wouldn't stop staring at me when he got the chance. I avoided eye contact with him throughout the whole of dinner. We ate in silence for a few minutes before Marcus started a conversation about soldiers and fighting. "If it was my choice I'd be a soldier all my life. However, my father will insist I go into politics." said Tribune. Marcus nodded lightly. "Have we met before? Your name sounds familiar." he then asked Marcus. "Oh I doubt it." said Marcus. "The Tribune's Club, in Rome?" My uncle chuckled at this. Then Marcus answered, "No I was only a Cohort Centurion." "Ah right, I remember now. Flavius Aquilla. Your father marched with the Eagles too, did he not?" Tribune asked. Marcus nodded and I did too, but only not as noticable. "He commanded the First Cohort of the Ninth." said Marcus with some pride. "Of course. The Ninth. Every Roman remembers the Ninth." Then Claudius began to speak.

I had by this point stopped eating and stopped to listen to their conversation. I had always asked my Uncle about the Ninth, but he had never given me a straight answer or he would just change the subject. "Talking of the Ninth, there's been a rumour recently along the wall." "Rumours. Rumours! Britain's full of nothing but rumours." said my uncle, laughing slightly. "They say The Eagle's been seen," began Claudius. I looked up at Marcus and he briefly caught my eye and looked up at Claudius. "Recieving divine honours in some tribal temple in the far north." Then Tribune spoke once again. I looked over to my left to where Esca was standing and he was watching us, but he looked almost angry to some extent. "An Eagle in the hands of the Painted People. A potent weapon. One had to wonder how any Roman could let it go." Then my uncle spoke again. "If this were to be true, surely we should act. What would Rome say?" he asked Claudius. "Eagle lost, honour lost, honour lost, all lost. Rome would love to get The Eagle back, but politics being politics, no senator's gonna risk thousnads of lives on a tainted legion." he explained. "My hands are tied." "Not if you sent one man." Marcus said. I looked up at Marcus in surprise. Was he thinking, what I thought he was thinking? "North of the wall?" Uncle asked. "No Roman could survive up there." "Has anyone ever tried?" Uncle chuckled at this. "No, and that's the point, militarily. To try would be to fail." "How do you know? One man can hide, where an army can't. No one would even know he was there." "It's too risky." Uncle pointed out. So Marcus was definitly thinking what I thought he was thinking. A trip to the north of the wall. "Quite right. The loss of the Ninth was humiliating enough, without adding another pointless death." said Tribune. By this point, I had officially hated him. Marcus was way ahead of me on that thought. He quickly stood up and hit the table with his fist as he did so and walked out of the kitchen bringing Esca with him. I looked up and glared at Tribune and got up as well, this time my uncle followed me out.

We walked down the hallways of the house, and came to Marcus's room and I opened the door. I held the door open for my uncle as he walked into Marcus's bedroom. Marcus was standing at the doors that led out of his room and out into the garden, similar to what my room had. Esca was standing on the opposite side of the room with his head bowed. I walked over to him and stood beside him, earning a dirty look from my uncle. Esca gently grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Uncle walked over to my brother as he spoke to him. "Marcus, you can't let the likes of him do this to you. He has no notion to how you and I have lived our lives." Marcus turned around slowly, saying, "Ever since I can remember, all I ever wanted to be was a soldier like my father." "I know." "I can still see him now, riding away for the last time. I can still feel how proud I was." said Marcus slowly walking towards my uncle. "My father, Centurion of the First Cohort of the Ninth Legion. Can you imagine anything more magnificent than to be a soldier and to serve Rome with courage and faithfulness?" "But you did, son." said my uncle. "For what? For what?" Marcus yelled. "An honourable discharge?" "That's fate, that's in the hands of the Gods." replied Uncle. A part of me wanted to step in and defend Marcus, and I had tried to move forward, but Esca held me back. "Wait. Give them time." he whispered to me.

"When I made Centurion, they asked me where I wanted to be posted. I knew the answer before they had even asked it. Britain. This is where my father lost The Eagle. This is where I was gonna win so much glory that no Roman would ever dare bring up his name again." he explained as tears started to form in his eyes. "What do I do now? What do I do? I sit and I listen to some silk ass polition's son _piss_ on our family's name. I will not sit in some villa for the rest of my days, rotting and remembering." My uncle gave an incredulous laugh, yet Marcus still continued. "If I can't win back my family's honour by being a soldier, then I will do it my finding the lost Eagle." I nodded in agreement, even though I knew no one was paying attention. I looked up at Esca and saw him smiling slightly. "You can't." said my uncle. "No Roman can survive north of the wall alone. You can't." Marcus then turned and pointed in our direction. "Then I'll take Esca. I can use his knowledge, he speaks the language." he said.

Uncle raised an eyebrow at this. "Esca?" "Why not?" Marcus asked angrily. "Because he is a Briton. He may not be from north of the wall, but he is a Briton and he will slit your throat the minute you're alone." "Then I will take Elena with me as well. Besides, he wouldn't do that." Uncle glanced over at me briefly before turning back to Marcus. "You would risk your sister's life, just to win some honour?" "He wouldn't be risking my life, I would be risking my own life. I want to go with him." I said stepping forward slightly, but still holding onto Esca's hand. "Well, never the less, how do you know _he_ won't slit your throat?" he asked Marcus again. "He gave me his word." my brother replied. "His word? He's a slave! He says what he says and he does what he does, because he has to. Once you're beyond the territories..." Uncle didn't finish his sentence, but we all knew what he was talking about. "If I'm wrong, then I'll die and that's how it should be." said Marcus firmly.


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello readers. First off I want to apologize for not updating fast enough. My internet at home has stopped working and I have not been able to log in. Also just a fair warning, I will not be updating as fast as most of you would like, due to continuous internet problems and school work. I havent been able to find a lot of time to write, so please be patient with me. I know this is a short chapter but I ran out of ideas and I had to put something down for you. I hope you enjoy it none the less. I apologize in advance for not updating too fast. Thanks for the great reviews and support.**

The next day Marcus, Esca and I devoted our time to planning and preparing for our trip north of the wall. I took time, to help cook and pack the food, while Marcus and Esca prepared the horses and drew out maps that would guide us towards the wall. By the end of the night we all seemed to be exhausted. After dinner, Marcus and I headed off to bed to rest up. When I entered my bedroom, I flung myself onto my matress and just stayed there. Almost an hour had passed and I hadn't moved more than an inch. I was exhausted from the past few days. Everything had happened so fast. Realizing my feelings for Esca and discovering that he felt the same, my first kiss, Tribune's remarks about my father. Everything was more mentally exhausting than physically exhausting, but I was still tired.

I was awoken early the next morning by none other than my brother, who seemed to be as eager and as excited as I was by just the mere thought of this journey. I knew I would not be required to wear a dress for the next little while, so I pulled on a pair of black leather pants and a brown, leather top, that fit perfectly across my chest and the rest of my upper body. Unfotrunatly, it had no sleeves, but it was tied so tightly onto my body that I doubted it needed them. I pulled on a poncho that was made of some kind of material, but I knew that it would keep me warm. I packed some extra blankets and clothes, into my leather bag and fastened it shut, throwing it over my shoulders before I left my bedroom.

I made my way towards the stables, where Marcus and Esca were preparing the horses for our journey. When I arrived, I saw Esca preparing the third and final horse for the journey and I couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. "Is everything ready?" I asked walking over to him. He turned his head in my direction and smiled before returning to the horse. "Almost. I just need to tighten these straps, then we should be all set." he said. "Good." I said turning to my right and walking over to Marcus. "Are you alright?" I asked sitting next to him. "I'm fine, my leg is a little stiff, but it should be alright." he said wrapping his arm around me pulling me closer to him as he leaned down and whispered in my ear. "I want you to know that I know what's going on between you and Esca. I have no problem with it, but if he so much as thinks of hurting you, I will do something about it." I looked up at him and nodded. "I just want you to be happy Elena, but I don't want you to get hurt either." "I understand, Marcus." I said standing up. "Everything's ready." said Esca walking out from behind the horse. I turned to face Marcus and reached out my hand, which he took as I helped him up. I walked over to a brown horse, the one that Esca was working on when I got there. "Here, let me help you." Esca said as he walked over to me. He grabbed both of of my hips as he lifted me up and I mounted the horse. He took my hand and brought it to his lips giving it a light kiss. "I'll be right beside you." he said walking over to his own horse to the right of mine.

Once Marcus had gotten on his horse, we finally set out across Caleva towards Hadrian's wall. Esca rode beside me as we trecked across endless mounds of empty land. It took us a little more than 4 days before we reached the wall itself and when we did, I felt my jaw drop a little. It was by far larger than I could have ever imagined. The wall was made of solid stone, and was at least over a hundred feet high. All along the top, I could see soldiers. When we entered the internal structure, there were more soldiers standing around talking and some were even drinking. Marcus rode ahead a few feet of Esca and I towards one of the soldiers. "And where are you headed?" asked the soldier. "North." said Marcus. The soldiers chuckled and turned back to face us. "Didn't they tell you this was the end of the world?" asked the soldier. I rolled my eyes, and sighed impatiently. "Just open the gate soldier." Marcus ordered. The soldier looked at us as if we were crazy, but ordered the guards to open the gate. As the doors opened I felt nervous. Ahead I could see nothing but vast, open land, empty and filled with dangers. I reached out beside me and took Esca's hand, gripping it tightly as he squeezed mine back. Marcus once again led the way as we left the wall behind. We kept north, exploring the empty stretches of land. There were few trees around us for the first few days of travel, but by the end of the first week we were almost completely surrounded by them.


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello readers. First off I want to apologize for not updating fast enough. I havent been able to find a lot of time to write, so please be patient with me. Just a warning, the next chapters will probably be a little shorter than the ones that have already been posted, and I am sooo sorry about that, but I hope you like them anyways. I hope none of the chapters are disappointing and if they are I am so sorry. :( Thanks for the great reviews and support. :)**

One day of our journey, (2 weeks later I might add...sigh) we rode during the day and stopped and made camp at night when the sun had set and the moon was out, shining brightly across the sky. We had reached a forest during the middle of the day, and now that night had fallen, we had stopped to set up camp. While Esca and Marcus were unpacking blankets and laying them out on the ground, I attempted to make a fire. In truth, I had never started a fire in my life. I hit the two rocks together, over and over again, but I only got sparks. I grumbled with frustration, before the spark caught onto the branches and the wood went up into flames. "Yes!" I muttered a little too loudly. I snuck a quick look over my shoulder and saw Marcus and Esca both staring at me, before breaking out in laughter. "What?" I asked incredulously. The two of them stood up with blankets in their hands and sat down across from each other, with the fire separating the two of them. I grabbed my blanket off of the ground and wrapped it around my shoulders as I stood up and settled myself next to Esca.

After we had eaten our little meal, I had started to drift off. I wasn't completely asleep, and I knew this because I could hear Marcus and Esca conversing with each other. I tried to keep myself awake, I wanted to listen to them, but I didn't want them to know I was listening. I guess I was being an eavesdropper. "You know, sometimes I dream that I'll find my father alive up here." Marcus began. "That he survived in some hidden place." "Is that why you're here? To find your father?" Esca asked. "No. We are here to find The Eagle." "How can a piece of metal mean so much to you?" Esca pressed on. "The Eagle is not a piece of metal. The Eagle is Rome. Wherever The Eagle is, we can say that, Rome did that." said Marcus proudly. There was an awkward moment of silence that passed between them before Esca spoke up again. "My father was Cunoval. Bearer of the Blue Warshield of the Brigantes, leader of 500 men. 7 years ago you took our lands. My father and 2 brothers died. My mother also. My father killed her before the Legionaries broke through. He knew what they would do to her, so she knelt in front of him and he slit her throat...Rome also did that." Esca explained solemnly. "I'm sorry." said Marcus. I knew it wasn't whole hearted, but I was happy he was at least apologizing.

The next day we found ourselves trecking across mountains and looking out at the sunrise. Neither of us really knew where to go. "Which way?" Marcus had asked. "It's up to you." said Esca. "5 thousand men could disappear in a single glen...there are thousands of glens." I looked over at Marcus, waiting for his decision. If it were my decision, I would have gone North-West. After a few minutes, Marcus had made his decision. "North." he said. "Why North?" I asked. Marcus turned his head in my direction. "It feels like the right choice." "If you say so." I answered. Marcus raised his eyebrows. "Do you have any better suggestions?" he asked. I nodded my head slightly. "I do, but knowing you, you would just ignore them." Marcus scoffed and turned his attention back to the land ahead. This time Esca took a bit of a lead and said, "Anyone we meet, let me do the talking. If they find out that you're Romans, they'll kill you...and me." he said. I led my horse up right beside Esca so that I could talk to him. I didn't care if Marcus was listening.

"So what was your village like?" I began. "To be honest I don't really remember. It was small, but very lively." he explained. I nodded as I listened. "There was so much land that was just outside of the village, and a lake right next to it. I used to take my brothers there with me when I had the time. It was my favourite place out of the whole village area." I smiled up at him and he smiled kindly back at me. "You would have loved it." he said. "Perhaps you could take me there one day?" I asked somewhat hopefully. Esca's expression suddenly turned sad. "I wish I could, but my village no longer exists." he told me sadly. "Oh. I'm so sorry, I didn't know." I apologized. I felt terrible now, I knew that even, though I couldn't have known that his village was destroyed, I still felt bad about asking. "Don't worry." he said. After our little conversation, we stopped speaking to each other for the rest of the ride.


	7. Chapter 6

**Hello readers. First off I want to apologize for not updating fast enough. I havent been able to find a lot of time to write, so please be patient with me. I hope none of the chapters are disappointing and if they are I am so sorry. Thanks for the great reviews and support. :) Now this chapter doesn't EXACTLY follow the story line of the movie, but I did my best. For those of you who have seen the movie, you'll know where I didn't follow it. Also there is a lot of dialogue, and anything that is in bold text is Gaelic :) I hope you like it! 3**

Over almost a week's time, we stopped and spoke to many people that lived in small villages. Esca rode up to them and asked them whether they had seen the Legion that had passed through here many years ago, or at least that is what he said that he asked. He told us to stay back so that he could speak to the people, so Marcus and I had really no idea whether or not he was really asking them, or just stalling. The only reason Esca really asked us to stay behind was because he was the only one who knew how to speak the language, Gaelic, but what neither Marcus or Esca knew was that I actually understood and spoke the language as well.

It seemed that each and every person he asked, had not seen any sign of the Legion since they passed through, and there were some that claimed never to have seen or even heard of the Ninth. I began to get frustrated and I felt like we were wasting our time. "Esca, are you certain?" I would ask, and he would always reply "Yes." Every time I would sigh in frustration and annoyance. One day however, Marcus seemed to be as fed up as I was, but actually decided to do something about it. Esca had rode on ahead to speak to the man we met during the days' travels, and a few moments later Marcus unmounted his horse and made his way towards them. "What are you doing?" I asked after him. "Something isn't right. Now you can either come with me or stay here." he said as he continued to march over to the two men. Sighing, I also unmounted my horse and ran to catch up with Marcus as he shoved Esca aside and put a knife to the man's throat. "Stay back!" Esca called. "Enough! No more games, no more lies! Ask him where the Legion went." Marcus said angirly. I was right, he was definitly as fed up as I was. "Ask him!" Esca took a step forward and began to ask the man, in Gaelic, **"The Romans who came here many years ago, where did they go?" **I glanced at the man, waiting for a reply. **"In the great woods, beyond the snowy mountains, there is a man who can tell you what you want to know." **Marcus looked over at Esca and he repeated what he said. Marcus removed his knife from the man's throat and we all walked back to our horses and set off towards the snowy mountains. I took out three different sets of furs, and handed one to each of them to wrap around them and wrapped one around myself to keep warm.

I was glad I thought to pack them, because as we traveled up the mountains it was colder than anything I had experienced. Esca seemed alright with it, probably because he had been through weather like this. Marcus and I however...well I laughed at myself for how much I didn't know about snow and cold weather. It took us about two days before we reached the great woods that the man had talked about. We traveled through them, looking for the man who would tell us what we need to know. The day after we had left the mountains, I had the feeling that we were being watched. We traveled on through the trees, and what happened to Esca happened so fast, neither Marcus nor I had time to take in what happened until a few minutes after. Someone jumped out fromt the trees and knocked both Esca and his horse over and tumbled down a small hill. I jumped off my horse and ran towards them, with Marcus behind me. Marcus shoved me aside and tackled the man as Esca took out his got up on his knees and grabbed the man from behind and put a knife to his throat. "Kill him!" yelled Marcus. Esca looked under the man's chin as Marcus repeated himself. "Kill him, do it now!" "Chin strap scar! Only a Roman helmet does that." said Esca as he looked up at Marcus. "He's a Legionary." I said. Esca looked up at me and nodded. Marcus then grabbed the front of the man's tunic. **"Why are you looking for me?"** asked the man. "What's your name?" asked Marcus firmly. The man didn't answer. I walked over and crouched next to Marcus. "What's your name?" I asked. "I'm called Guern. My _name_ is Lucious Caius Metellus. First Cohort of the Ninth Legion."

"Grab our bags." ordered Marcus. Esca walked over to the horses and grabbed our packs and walked back over to where Marcus and I sat. Lucious didn't look like much, considering who he was. His hair was long and tangled and his beard was scruffy. He wore different animal furs and kept a short knife on his belt. "How have you survived up here for so long?" I asked. "My tribe is called the Selgovae. They took me in, made me one of their own. I have a woman, two sons. My life is here now." he answered as he stood up and walked a few feet away. "I don't trust him. He's a deserter." said Esca. "We don't know that. Besides, he's still a Roman." "He was a Roman when he ran." Esca whispered as Lucious walked back over to us. That night we ate rabbit and drank a bit of our water. "I don't know what your father's orders were," began Lucious breaking the silence. "But all I know, is that we had it coming. Why did they have to come North? There is nothing here worth taking. Couldn't they have been satisfied with what they had? They always had to punish and push on looking for more conquests, more territories, more wars." he explained. It took me a few minutes to realize he was talking about the battle that he and our father had gone through, the reason behind the loss of The Eagle. Beside me Esca became quite tense and avoided eye contact with us.

"Just tell us what happened." Marucs pressed on. "When the order came for the Ninth to march North, it was autumn. The worst weather they'd had in years. For weeks we marched. No sign of them. Suddenly they just appeared out of the mist. We could hear them picking the men off at the back, one by one. Finally, we just stopped trying to find open ground and we turned and faced them." I shuddered at the thought of what he might say next. "Those last few days of the legion, I've never been so frightened. We fought back-to-back. No sleep. Pissing where we stood. They came at us like animals. All the Northern tribes were there, but the worst, were the Painted Warriors of the Seal People. They hacked the feet off the dead, so their souls couldn't walk into the afterlife." Now I was trembling all over and Marcus was shuddering and breathing a little too deeply. "We could hear them being sacrificed." "My father?" Marucs asked looking up at him. "What happened to him?" "The last time I saw your father, he was surrounded by the warriors of the Seal People." said Lucious. "Did he die fighting?" Marcus pressed on. I then looked up at Lucious to hear his answer. I wanted to know what happened to my father as much as Marcus did. "I don't know. I ran before the end." I scoffed. "You coward." said Marcus. "No. You weren't there. You don't know what it was like." "Who has The Eagle?" Marcus asked. Lucious shrugged his shoulders. "They say the Seal People have it." "How do I find them?" Lucious then raised his arm and pointed right at Esca. "He knows. He's Brigantes. They fought there." I looked over at Esca and so did Marcus, both of us with angry expressions on our faces.


	8. Chapter 7

**Anything that is in bold text is Gaelic :) I hope you like it!**

Early the next morning, we took off through the woods and by midday were out in the open again. When I found out about Esca and his tribe, I wasn't exactly angry at _him_ just at the fact that it was his tribe that assisted in slaughtering my father and his men. As we rode up a small hill my brother began to speak angrily to Esca. "You always knew that place existed, didn't you?" he yelled. Esca looked over at him with a straight face. "We have wasted weeks searching, and all this time you could have told me...or at least my sister. Your tribe was there and they butchered my father's men like dogs!" Esca now had an equally, angry expression on his face as he yelled back, "Your father came to kill! He came to punish us because we would not bow to the name of Rome! Yes, I had heard of this place, to me and to all my people, it is a place of heroes." "How dare you? You're still my slave!" Marcus called back. "Marcus, stop!" I said trying to stop them fighting. "And you'd be dead in a ditch without me!" Esca yelled to my brother. Now they were almost in each others faces. I wanted to break them apart, but their horses were to close together for me to separate them, and we were right next to a hill. "I saved your miserable life!" said Marcus. Esca seemed to have taken that remark personally. He jumped off his horse and lunged at Marcus knocking him off his horse and to the ground. I gasped in fright as they both rolled down the hill and began to hit each other. I jumped off of my horse and quickly grabbed the other two by their reins and made sure that they stayed as I ran down the hill.

They continued to hit and tackle each other for a few minutes, clearly unaware of what I saw in front of me. Standing in a few feet away from us stood a man with a painted face and wore seal skin as clothing. He stared at Marcus and Esca curiously, but not in an amused fashion. Esca then looked up and seeing that we were now surrounded by these people, who I assumed were Seal People judging by their clothing, and stood up. He walked over to me and stared at the man, as he spoke, **"Who are you?" **he asked. **"I am Esca son of Cunoval, slain Chief of the Brigantes." **Esca responded. The Seal man looked from me and then to Marcus. **"Who is it you talk to in the Roman tongue?" **Esca looked over at Marcus, then back at the man. **"My slave." **Marcus looked at Esca, he had no idea what they were saying and was looking for answers. The man walked over to Marcus and studied him, he pushed his chin up and seemed to find what he was looking for. **"It's true! Their God marks them all with the same scar." **Then he looked at me and asked, **"Who is she?" **Esca hesitated a moment before replying, **"My whore." **My eyes widened and my jaw dropped a little as the Seal People all laughed. I looked down at my feet as anger spread through me. I wanted to slap him but being surrounded by the people that helped kill my father, made me keep my ground. **"My father would like to see such as slave as he, you will be my guest. You must teach your slave not to talk to you as he does, we will help you." **said the man. He ordered his men to grab Marcus and Marcus, having no idea what was happening, struggled and didn't stop until they put something to his throat and forced him to walk forward. Esca grabbed my arm and forced me to walk along side him as the Seal man and his followers began to walk, in the direction I believed to be where their village was.

Along the way, Esca kept trying to talk to me, but I just ignored him. He didn't know I could understand his language, so he seemed a bit surprised at how I was acting. He deserved it in my opinion, especially after what he called me. It took us about a day of walking before we reached the Seal People's village. The day that passed was rainy and miserable and Marcus was being treated terribly. He was being dragged along behind one of our horses. By the time we reached the village, he was all beaten up. The Seal Prince, I found out, was leading the way with Esca and I following behind him. He led us through the village, past tents and people that watched as we walked by. The Seal Prince led us to one of the larger tents and asked for his father. A few moments later an elder man stepped out of the opening. He had lank, grey hair and wore seal skins. **"The hunting was good?" **he adressed his son. The Prince nodded, **"It was good, father." "You wish me to eat these people too?" **I almost gagged in disgust. **"I bring a guest, Esca, eldest son to Cunoval, slain Chief of the Brigantes as well as his...whore. And his slave, a Roman."** The Seal People that surrounded us began to mutter to each other. **"And does this slave have a name?"** asked the Seal Chief. This time Esca answered, "Marcus Flavious Aquila." **"I have brought many Romans back to my village, but none with their heads attached to their bodies." **Again I almost threw up. **"You are welcome, Esca son of Cunoval, and your woman friend as well." **he said as he walked back towards the tent. **"Come eat with us." **said the Prince. "Esca what's happening?" asked Marcus nervously. Esca walked up to my brother and said flat out, "You're my slave, you'll do for me as I did for you.** Show him where to go and find her a tent that I may share with her."** he said to the Seal People.

I locked eyes with Esca and glared at him, but all he did was smile. The People grabbed me by the arm and dragged me away, and dragged Marcus the opposite way. "Elena!" he called after me. "Don't worry, I'll be fine!" I reassured him. The Seal People brought me over to an empty tent and threw me in. They followed me inside and tied my hands behind my back and threw my bags in behind me. I looked around the tent as they left. It was pretty spacious, and there were thick furs that covered the floor and some sort of matress in the far corner. It wasn't much. I sat with my hands behind me for hours, when I remembered that I had stashed my knife in the front flap of my bag. I scooted myself backwards and felt around behind me for my bag. When my finger came in contact with the leather, I began to search my bag for my knife. "Ouch!" I muttered. My hands had come in contact with something sharp. My knife. I gently grasped the blade, careful not to cut myself and began to saw through the leather that was binding my hands together. It took a few minutes before the knife had finally cut through the material, but when it did, I held the knife in one hand and searched for smooth rock with the other. I found a small one a few feet away from me and picked it up. I began to rub the knife blade against the rock in attempt at sharpening it. When I was satisfied with my work I sat back and waited for Esca to return. It took at least an hour before I heard footsteps outside the tent. 'How long does it take them to eat?' I wondered to myself.


	9. Chapter 8

**Anything that is in bold text is Gaelic :) I hope you like it!**

Esca's face appeared in the opening of the tent as he entered the premises. He walked over to me and sat cross-legged in front of me. I glared at him continuosly as he raised an eyebrow. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?" I sighed deeply. "Because of what you called me." I said angrily. Esca pretended to look surprised. "I don't know what you're talking about." "Yes, you know very well what I am talking about! I know what you told them." Esca scoffed. "Really? Then what did I tell them?" "You called me your-your...your whore." The expression on Esca's face went from smug, to what looked like, embarassment. "How could you know that?" he asked, clearly growing nervous. I smirked at him in the dim light that came from the candle that he brought in. "I know the language." His eyebrows knotted together as a confused expression overcame his handsome face. "Elena, I am so sorry." he said reaching out to me. I raised an eyebrow at him as I watched his hand move closer to me. When it was just an inch away from my face I grabbed his wrist, knocked him on his back and straddled him. I placed my knife to his throat and held his hands firmly to his sides. My long brown hair fell over my shoulder and just hovered above his face. "You are a lying, deceitful bastard." I said angrily. All he did was scoff and then laugh at me. "You wouldn't kill me." he said confidently. I placed more pressure on the knife, and a little drop of blood formed. "Give me one reason that I shouldn't." I said testingly. Esca looked into my eyes now as he said, "Because what I'm doing is for a reason," I scoffed at this remark. "And because, you still love me." he said. This took me off guard for a moment, but that was all he needed.

He wriggled his wrists out of my grasp and quickly grabbed my hand that was holding the knife and moved it away from his wrist. Before I knew it he grabbed my hips and switched us around so that I was on the bottom and he was straddled on top of me, smirking. He held my hands down above my head and took the knife out of my hand and threw it across the floor. "I'll wipe that smirk off your face." I said glaring at him. "I'd like to see you try." he said mocking me. I squinted up at him as he roughly captured my lips with his. I felt his thumb gently stroked the pulse point in my neck. His tongue swept over my lower lip as I opened my mouth almost too willingly. I had forgotten what it felt like to kiss Esca, what it felt like to be this close to him. I missed it. I grabbed the back of his tunic in fistfuls and pulled him closer to me. Esca's free hand began to slide down my side and reached the belt line of my pants. My heart began to pound against my rib cage and my breathing became more and more shallow. His hand began to tug my pants farther and farther down my legs and when he was done with that he gently pulled his lips away from mine. My breaths were quick and ragged as he began to untie the laces that held my corset top together. "Slowly." I said grabbing his hands and looking into his eyes. The look in his eyes was the same as when we had first kissed, except filled with more passion and love, than just lust and love. His pace became slower and more careful as he finished undoing the last of the laces. I moved my hands down to the hem of his shirt and began to attempt to pull it off. Finally and successfully I managed to tug it over his head. Esca removed his own pants on his own.

**"You're beautiful." **I said in his language. Smiling at me he replied, **"Not as beautiful as you...my darling."** I smiled up at him as he brought his lips down on mine again. Esca then repositioned himself over me. I wrapped my legs around his waist causing him to become closer to me. I felt him enter a little way, but then he stopped. **"What is it?"** I asked nervously. **"You feel too small, I'm afraid of hurting you."** I took his face in my hands and said softly, **"You won't hurt me. I trust you...push harder, I want you so much that I don't care if it hurts." **He smiled at me and then I felt him push and it did hurt, more than I expected, but the pain only lasted for a short moment. A sudden wonderful feeling then took over the pain. He withdrew a little and pushed again and I pushed back. I smiled through his kisses as he began to move rhythmically. The constant strokes set a pulse of wonderful pleasure somewhere in my groin. Everytime our bodies came together he moaned and I gave little gasps of excitment and I dug my fingers into his back. Soon my gasps became moans and cries. I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him, if possible closer to me, deepening our kisses. Kissing him and having him make love to me drove me out of my mind with pleasure. A sudden spasm of joy overcame me, it was so violent, it felt like falling off a horse. Crying out loud, I parted my lips from his and looked up into his icy blue eyes, in the candle light they sparkled like stars. Another wave of unbearable pleasure took over me as I called out his name, but then I felt his body convulse and as he cried out, I felt a hot jet spurt inside of me. Moaning loudly as one last wave of pleasure overcame me, the feeling began to fade and both of us went still.

I felt too exhausted to speak or to move, Esca must have felt the same. He placed his head gently just above my chest, his breaths were quick and somewhat ragged as mine were. **"I love you so much, Elena."** he whispered. I placed my hands on his head and whispered back, **"I love you too. More than you know."** Soon afterwards, our breathing became slow and regular again our bodies became more relaxed. I felt so much love for Esca now, that it was hard to deny my feelings for him, to anyone. My uncle would never know how I felt and neither would my brother, until he finds a woman of his own. After this night with Esca, I wanted the whole world to know how I felt and I wouldn't care about what anyone thought. Briton or not, Esca was the one person in my life that has truly loved me for who I am and I felt so lucky to have found him. Esca raised his head and looked at me straight in the face. "Marry me." he said.


	10. Chapter 9

**Now in this chapter I put together what would have been the 2 days at the Seal village into one day and I cut out the part where Esca hits MArcus and yells at him and stuff...if youve seen the movie you know what I mean ;) Anyways, I hope you like it! dont forget to review! i accept all reviews except ones that are like EXTREME hate mail, which i dont appreciate... ENJOY! (Ciara is pronounced like Kee-Ra, or Keira, it's Gaelic so thats just how it is:P)**

I opened my mouth to reply, but closed it again and thought about what he had just asked. Marriage was a big commitment, but I loved Esca more than I thought possible. I was angry at him, sure, but he is still the man I fell in love with and if he was ready to spend his life with me, then I was ready to spend mine with his. Smiling up at him I said, "Of course I'll marry you." Esca returned a happy smile and gently kissed my lips, before rolling off of me and laying next to me. He reached out beside him and grabbed some blankets and threw them over us. I inched closer to him and he put his arm around my shoulders as I rested my head on his chest. I loved the sound of his heart beating, it was calming. Hours seemed to pass, but the minutes that passed didn't matter to me at the time. It took me a while to fall asleep, but Esca was fast asleep after almost an hour of talking.

The next day, Esca walked around the village with the Seal Prince and his group of warriors. After agreeing to marry him, Esca told the Seal Prince and his family that he had made a mistake in calling me a whore, and now proudly walked around with me as his fiancee. I had yet to tell Marcus of our plans to marry, and I could only imagine how he would react. It was lucky however, that I was very uninterested in wandering around the village, I was also very uncomfortable. I found Marcus standing by Esca's horse, brishing it and watching angrily as the Seal People and Esca walked past him. Quickly running past a few natives, I ran up to Marcus. "How do you feel?" I asked staring at the wounds on his face. Marcus focused his angry look on me now. "How do you think I'm feeling? I've been bruised and cut and now I have been told that I am a slave." Sighing I took the brush out of his hands and dropped it on the ground. "I'm sorry." I said taking his hand. His expression softened a little and he gave my hand a light squeeze. "It's not your fault. He's the lying, deceitful bastard, not you." I let out a soft chuckle at his words. "What?" he asked. "It's just that those were the exact words I said to him last night." I answered as he released my hand. Marcus raised his eyebrows at me. "You're not still in love with him are you? After all he did to me, to us?" he asked now staring right into my eyes. I dropped my gaze and suddenly the grass became quite interesting to me. "He asked me to marry him." I said softly. I didn't need to look up at Marcus to know what his expression was. "What did you say?" he asked. His voice was now becoming angry again. "I said 'yes'." "Wha-Why? After all he's done?" he asked incredulously. "I still love him Marcus! And deep inside I know he loves me too, or else he wouldn't have asked me to marry him in the first place. I was angry at him at first, but then he said something about that what he's doing, he's doing for a reason." I explained almost begging him to forgive Esca. All he did was scoff and walk away with the horse, leaving me standing there alone.

Later that evening, Esca brought me to eat with him and the Seal People. We entered the tent together and he led me to sit next to him and he sat between me and the Prince. The food was peculiar, but was pretty decent. Esca seemed surprised at my willingness to try something new and he just stared at me as we ate. There were people chattering amongst themselves all around the tent and when I looked up at them all, I saw why. Marcus had entered the tent now, carrying a pot of some kind, thogh I was unsure of what was inside of it. Next to me Esca leaned down and whispered in my ear, **"Did you tell him yet?" "Yes, of course." **I answered back. **"What did he say?"** I hesitated a moment before I told him, **"He thought I was being ridiculous, after all that you have done."** Esca nodded and turned back to his food. **"Why are you here?" **came the Seal Prince's voice from Esca's other side. I kept my head down, but listened carefully. **"I came north to be free of Rome. My heart hunts for a place to be free. I tricked the Roman to help me get here." **he explained. I knew in my heart this wasn't true, that he was saying this so that he wouldn't get himself killed. **"What about her?" **the Prince asked. Esca looked at me and then put an arm around me and said, **"She wanted to come with me, she didn't want to leave me behind, so I let her come along."** I looked up and smiled at Esca and the Seal Prince, who just stared at me. **"Does she speak the language?"** he asked. I nodded as a reply to his question. **"You have an odd resemblance to the slave."** he said adressing me now. **"Looks don't define who you are, it's the blood that runs through your veins."** I said defensively. Esca gave my shoulder a light squeeze.

That night, there was some sort of celebration that the Seal People had planned for their young men, to become warriors. At least that's what I understood it to be. Esca took that as an advantage to make love to me again, which I did not object to.

(about an hour later ;D )

We sat on the matress with just blankets and furs wrapped around our bodies. I sat cross legged in front of Esca who sat behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist, holding me to him. "You never told me how you learned to speak Gaelic." he said pushing my hair over my shoulder as he began to place soft kisses all along my neck. "Um, well I haven't ever told anyone the reason...ever." I said taking his hands in mine. "You can tell me." he whispered in my ear. I took a deep breath and began to tell my story. "When I was a young girl, after my parents died and I had moved in with my uncle, about a year afterwards my uncle bought me a slave. Someone to do things for me, sort of like what you did for Marcus. She was young, maybe a year older than me, her name was Ciara and she was my best friend. We did everything together, I never let her do something for me without me helping her do it, unless of course I absolutly could not assist her. We played together, when we had the time, but what she loved to do with me the most was teaching me her language. She began to teach me when I was around eleven. We would sit down in the late evening when my uncle was asleep and she would help learn to speak and understand words and sentences in Gaelic. We continued this for three years and I caught on quickly." "But...?" he pressed on. "But we knew it was against my uncle's wishes and that was why did it during the late eveings, we didn't want to know what would happen if we got caught. Well, my uncle's slave Stephanos overheard us on his way to bed and told my uncle everything. It was complete chaos. My uncle had beaten Ciara, to the point where she could barely stand, with me right in front of him. He ignored my cries and when he finished with her, he sent her away back to her village, to her people. Even though I still miss her terribly I am glad she was able to be back with her own people." I explained. Tears were now running slowly down my cheeks as I remebered Ciara. She was the greatest friend I could have asked for. Esca reached up and wiped the tears away with his thumb and kissed my cheek as he held me tightly.


	11. Chapter 10

**Hey readers! Sorry this update took so long. Exams have started and I had a lot of homeowork the past few weeks. Anyways, just a heads up for this chapter and the next one, I do not have a talent for writing fight scenes, so I apologize for the scene where they fight in the River with the Seal people, if it isn't to your liking. I tried my best. Enjoy anyways! And please, if you have finished reading, please review! i like getting reviews, good or bad. :D thanks! Oh and I am sorry, i left out some of the dialogue from the movie. Sorry! **

"Tonight, when they're all asleep, we have to go and find Marcus." he said after a few minutes. "Why?" I asked turning myself so I could look up at him. "Because we're going to get The Eagle and get out of here. I knew about this celebration and I knew it was the perfect time for us to get The Eagle and head back to Rome." he explained. "So they do have it?" I asked. Nodding, Esca replied, "Yes, the Prince told me so, last night. We should go now." Together we dressed and packed what belongings we could carry as well as swords, and we silently left the tent and began to walk towards the small lake to find the people. In front of us were Seal People sprawled everywhere on the ground. Esca began to step around them as he made his way towards an unconcious, Marcus. I followed carefully in his footsteps as he stopped and bent over my brother, and began to shake him. "Marcus. Marcus!" Marcus awoke with a jump as he turned his head in Esca's direction. "It's time. We have to do this now. It's our only chance. While they sleep. "I thought I'd lost you." said Marcus sleepily. "Quickly." said Esca standing up again. Marcus slowly got up and took the sword that Esca was holding out to him. Taking my hand, Esca led the way across the small lake to a cave on the other side. We walked on for what seemed like hours, but was in actuality minutes, before we reached the inside of the cave. We walked slowly and quietly, making sure we made no sounds. Once inside the internal structure of the cave, Marcus immediatly began to look around for The Eagle. He didn't have to look long. Standing in the middle of the cave, was none other than The Eagle itself. A strange feeling of happiness and pride took over me as I stared at it for the first time in my life. Marcus and Esca moved closer to the small golden statue, and Marcus pulled it out of the ground and held it in his hands. Esca moved closer towards Marcus and grabbed his arm. "There's no time now. Let's go." he said looking around worriedly. Marcus nodded and the three of us began to make our way out, when a voice spoke. **"Traitor."**

The voice came from the Seal Chief. From behind him, came three warriors carrying swords and torches. My eyes widened as fear came over me when they suddenly charged at us. I had no weapon to defend myself with and I was slightly afraid. Esca and Marcus drew their swords and began to hit and strike the men. Marcus threw The Eagle at me and when I caught it I backed up a bit, trying not to get in the middle of the fight, seeing as I was defenceless. I felt like a coward and I felt useless, but I knew there wasn't much I could do, so watched from a distance. Marcus was now being attacked by the Seal Chief and Esca was finishing off the last warrior. Marcus finally stabbed the Seal Chief and as he fell to the ground he began to speak, though I could not hear what he said. Esca quickly ran over to me and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards Marcus as the Chief fell silent. Marcus stood up and faced us. "What did he say?" he asked angrily. "We have to go." said Esca. Shaking his head, Marcus, Esca and I made our way out of the cave and towards our horses.

I gave The Eagle back to Marcus, who took the statue off of the wooden staff and wrapped it carefully in some cloth, stuffing it under his arm as he got his horse ready. I finished with mine before either of them and mounted it with ease as I waited patiently for them. **"Esca." **came a small voice. We all turned our heads to see a small Seal boy standing, watching us. Esca turned around completely and walked over to the boy. **"Are you leaving?" **he asked. **"Yes." **said Esca. **"Can I go with you?" **Esca shook his head.** "Go back to your family." "My father will be angry." **said the boy. **"You tell him, when he wakes, that Esca is sorry but he has to go now. Not until he wakes, yes?" **said Esca. The boy nodded sadly and Esca handed him a small, wooden fish. The boy took it gratefully and Esca turned around walking back to his horse and mounting it. Leaving the boy behind, we took off through the village and we were soon back on empty land. We rode hard for hours hoping to reach the wall within four or five days. Esca said that if we rode hard enough, we could outrun them, but it would be difficult, because they are excellent hunters and fast runners. "You're wounded. Why didn't you say?" asked Esca late in the afternoon of the second day. "It's nothing." said Marcus. I rolled my eyes in disbelief. "Marcus we've been walking all day, sit down." I said. "It's nothing sister." he said looking at me. "It's your bad leg. Sit down." said Esca insistently. He handed his horse reins over to me as he grabbed a long piece of cloth. "We don't have time." said Marcus impatiently. "Just sit down." Esca walked over to Marcus as he sat down next to his horse, and wrapped the cloth around his knee. "In the cave, the chief. What did he say?" Marcus asked as Esca finished wrapping. "There's no time now." he replied, helping Marcus up.

We continued riding for a few more hours and in the distance, we could now hear dogs barking. "They know?" I asked Esca. "Yes, they are good hunters. We can't waste anymore time." he replied. The sky began to darken quickly and it was almost pitch black as we reached a small forest. That night, we set up camp and being low on food supplies, Esca hunted and found a rat. He broke it's neck and skinned it. The scent made me want to throw up. Marcus watched warily as Esca said, "No fires, it's too risky." and bit into the small creature. This time I really did throw up. I stood up and quickly walked a few feet away and just let it out. "I'm not eating that." I heard Marcus say. I stood up straight again and stared out at the stars. "Then die a Roman." said Esca. "You need to keep your strength up. Eat." Esca encouraged. I could only imagine what Marcus's expression looked like as I heard him bite into it. "Elena." called Esca. I turned my head in his direction and walked over. "You need to eat something too." Shaking my head I said, "No. I'll only throw it back up." I let Marcus and Esca finish the rat and I sat watching, hungry, but not at all eager to eat. "So," said Marcus staring at the two of us sitting together. "You plan to marry, then?" he asked. "Yes." I said. "You know what Uncle will say about it." "Then we will leave and marry elsewhere." said Esca. "That's easier said than done." began Marcus. "My uncle won't let you leave while you're still a slave. I can't imagine what he'd do if he found out that you're engaged." "We'll see what happens when we return, Marcus." I said sleepily. I rested my head on Esca's shoulder as Marcus replied, "If we make it back alive."


	12. Chapter 11

**Dear readers, I'm sad to say that this is the last and final chapter of this fanfiction. I can't thank you enough for your support, I really truly appreciate it. :D Now I was thinking of possibly doing a sequel to this story. It would be about Esca and Elena's lives after their return to Calleva. Their marriage and stuff. If you would like me to write a sequel, please tell me in you review. I won't start it just yet, however, because I have a bunch of other stories I would like to catch up on. Again, thanks so much for your support! **

We awoke early the next morning to get a head start on the journey ahead of us. I was the first one to wake that morning, Esca woke only minutes later and went to wake up Marcus. "It's time to go." he said shaking my brother awake. Marcus slowly got up and made his way to his horse. "Remember, they can take shortcuts that our horses can't." said Esca as he helped me up onto my own horse. So off we went, once again, making our way towards the wall. I could still hear dogs barking in the far off distance, this set me on edge, in fear of them catching up to us, but still we rode on.

About half way through day, as we were riding up a small mountain, Esca's horse began to give way. The poor creature's legs seemed to be unable to support his own weight any longer. "Esca we should stop. That horse won't carry you for much longer." I said seriously. "No. We have to keep going. Come on. Keep going. Come on!" he said urging the horse. "Esca it's no use! He's dying!" I half shouted. "Come on!" he said, continuing to ignore me. It was only a matter of minutes before the horse fell to it's knees and fell over onto his side, causing Esca to roll off. "There's nothing we can do, Esca. We'll have to leave him." I said sadly. Looking up at me, Esca nodded and stood back up. I held out my arm and helped him up onto my horse. I squeezed the sides of my horse to get him to move and once again we were off. "We should leave the horses behind." Esca whispered in my ear. "Why?" I asked. "We could get much farther without them." Nodding, I slowed down and dismounted my horse and Esca told my brother to do the same.

So, with Esca supporting Marcus, the three of us began to walk as fast as we could away from the sounds of dogs and to the wall. I was tired of all this traveling, but I knew that once we returned, it would have been worth it. I began to think about what Marcus said about my Uncle and what he would think of the engagment. He'd probably kill Esca himself. I thought for a while that maybe if Marcus freed Esca, then we could be together. I didn't care about what people would think about a Roman and a Briton marrying, I could have cared less about that. To me what was important was that I was with Esca. Even if we lived on the streets in some foreign land, if I had Esca with me, I would be perfectly happy. "Come on, we'll take the river." said Esca snapping me back to reality. "What?" I asked. "We can take the river, we'll have to swim, but this will get us far enough away from them that they should start to retreat." he said. He helped Marcus get into the river and jumped in after him to help support him. Looking at the water with weary eyes, I took a deep breath and jumped in. I wasn't fond of water, I liked to swim, but it had been many years since I had gone near a river or a lake, not counting the small one back at the Seal camp. We swam with the current, using it as an advantage to get us farther to wherever it was we were going.

"Stop!" whispered Esca harshly. I looked over at him and found him and Marcus up against a wall of soil and moss. He jerked his head upwards and I quickly looked up to see Seal People surrounding the egde of the cliff. Quickly, yet quietly I swam over to the pair and pressed my back against the wall. I heard the Seal People call out to each other before their footsteps disappeared. "We need to stick to the river. They'll double back soon enough." said Esca. Continuing on down the river, we swam for most of the day. We fell down small waterfalls, and when we finally found a small cave like area, we were soaked and freezing. To top it all off it had started to rain. Next to me, Marcus was breathing raggedly. "You need to rest." said Esca. "I can't." Marcus retorted. "You need to rest!" Esca dragged Marcus up to a boulder that was in the middle of the cave like area. I quickly walked over and knelt down next to him as Esca stood up. "Are you alright?" I asked. "I can't go on." said Marcus wearily. "Marcus-" I began. "Yes you can. You just need to rest." Esca said, interupting me. As we sat there in the open, the rain began to fall harder, causing not only myself, but the others as well. "Take The Eagle. If you find horses, come back. If not, just keep south." he said coughing. "Make sure this gets back to Rome." he held The Eagle out to Esca who shook his head. "I'm not leaving you here." "Neither will I Marcus. You're my brother, I won't abandon you." I said gently grasping his arm. "Do not dishonour me. Take it." he said more to Esca than to me. "I came this far with you. I won't leave you now." "Esca, I order you. Take it. Take my sister with you, make sure she's safe." he said insistently. "I swore an oath of honour, never to abandon you. If you want me to leave, set me free." Marcus smiled a little as he reached into his trouser pockets and pulled out Esca's, father's dagger and held it out to him.

"You're free. You're free my friend." Esca reached out and grabbed the dagger handle. "Take it." said Marcus again. I looked up at Esca as he said, "No. I will return." "Esca." I said standing up. Turning to me he gently took my face in his hands and said, "I will return, I promise." he then fiercly pressed his lips to mine and when we parted, he said, "I love you." and he ran off. Swallowing hard, trying to fight back tears. I sat down next to my brother once more and rested my head against the rock, hoping for a bit of rest. I closed my eyes and almost immediatly fell asleep.

I awoke to the sounds of approaching foosteps in the distance. I opened my eyes and stood up awkwardly, trying to keep my balance. I looked around for Marcus and found him standing a few feet away supporting himself with a what looked like a staff, with The Eagle sitting ontop of it. "What is that?" I asked walking over to him. Ahead of us I saw water splashing around as the same footsteps grew louder. "You don't think they could be Seal People?" I asked again. "No. The barks are too distant." he answered. Soon enough however, the water and mist cleared as a group of men in uniform, appeared, with Lucious Metellus and Esca leading. Marcus took my hand and we walked over to them. Smiling brightly as they stopped in front of us, Esca said, "Your fathers legionaries. You were wrong, the dead can live." I smiled happily as I ran up to him and kissed his lips. "You came back." I whispered. "Of course." he said. I moved to his side and took his hand. "My shame would not allow me to tell you this before, but I watched your father die. What ever anyone tells you, he was not a coward. He stood his gorund to the very end. I saw it." said Lucious. "The last Roman to hold The Eagle, was your father. The order, sir." he said standing straighter. Marcus looked up at Lucious. "You've honoured your father's memory enough. You don't have to do this." "No. When I ran from your father, I ran from myself." I looked up to the sky and saw that now there were Seal People standing around the edges of the cliffs, with their dogs, barking away. The other soldiers looked around nervously. "Give the order, sir." Lucious repeated. Marcus looked to Esca, who nodded. "Prepare to defend The Eagle!" Marcus ordered. I smiled at him, feeling proud of him. The soldiers walked around him and made a defence line in front of The Eagle. Lucious handed me a spare shield and sword and nodded to me, as a way of saying good luck.

I took my place next to Esca, as the Seal People began to jump down and walk towards us. Leading the People, was the Seal Prince looking angry. **"Esca!"** he called. **"This is what happens to those who betray their own people." **The prince turned and one of his men brought out the small boy, the prince's son, the one who had wanted to go with us and handed him over to the pirnce. The prince took out a blade and held the boy still. The look on the boy's face was one I would never forget. Fear and confusion. Beside me Esca tensed as he watched the prince slowly glide the blade across the boy's throat. Tears began to form in the corners of my eyes, but I held them back, as though not to show weakness. "Out swords!" called Marcus. All at once we drew our swords and pointed them towards the Seal People as they cried out and charged towards us. They came at us like Lucious described. Animals. They tackled and attacked us with such force that I backed up a few feet. Remembering my training with Marcus I began to strike and hit those who came at me with such force that they fell to the ground. Chaos errupted around me as the battle really began. Soldiers and natives alike began to cry out as they fought one another. Many fell to the ground within minutes. I had two or three come at me at once. I moved my shield in front my face and began to stab them, causing them to fall into the water. I lunged at the next one who came at me and pireced my blade through his chest. The fight went on for so long and it pained me to see so many people lying dead on the floor, but I had no time to mourn for them, not yet. I swung my sword above my head and brought it down on the Seal Peoples heads and pierced their backs. Block and strike, block and strike. That was what I told myself to do and with success I managed to kill many. I looked around for Marcus and Esca and saw the Seal Prince walking towards Esca, blade held high as he brought it down on him and pushed him to the ground.

"Marcus!" I screamed as the prince was about to bring the blade down on Esca. I didn't see what happened next. I was so occupied with fighting that I hadn't noticed the immense amount of pain coming from my back. I fell to my knees and then fell backwards, breathing heavily. I heard footsteps coming towards me at a fast pace and then stop next to me. Esca's face loomed over me as he took my hands in his. "Elena." he said. I just stared up at him, too weak to really say anything. "Elena, please speak to me!" his voice was filled with worry. I reached my hand up to his face, stroking his jaw. "Elena, please." he said, tears now streaming down his cheeks. I smiled up at him, and said slowly, "I love you." "No, no. Don't say that. You're not going to leave me! You can't leave me!" he said with a shaky voice. I noticed that the fighting had stopped and that what was left of the soldiers were standing around us. "Esca." I said slowly. "Elena, promise me that you won't leave me." "Esca, please." I said pressing my finger to his lips. "Just stay with me." Esca nodded as he lifted me out of the water and held me in his arms, where I fell into a deep unconscious sleep.

**Well readers, this is where it ends. If you would like me to write the sequel I have planned in my head, then please tell me in your review. Thank you so much for all of your support.**


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